Bruno at the 2014 European No-Gi Championship. Photo: Alcianna Photo

Text by Oliver Geddes:

It would be unfair to describe his clean sweep of the brown belt weight and absolute at the Rome International Open and the European No-Gi Championship as a coming-out party for Italy’s Bruno Ivan Tomasetti. He has been a mainstay on the European and World competition scene for over two years now, having already taken a world title at blue as well as the brown belt absolute at this year’s European Championship in Lisbon in addition to the FILA Gi and No-Gi World Championships. No matter what your previous accomplishments are though, winning 13 fights over one weekend, the majority by submission, is a feat that is worthy of note.

The first thing to be aware of about Bruno’s grappling skills is his judo background. He began training judo when he was seven years old, winning his first national title in the under-16 class at the age of 15, before taking bronze in the adult division the year after aged only 16. He also has a number of other competition successes, including a bronze at the under-20 European Championship and two silvers in the under-23 European Championship, as well as a bronze medal in the Military World Championship. To add to that list of achievements, he was also a member of the Italian national judo squad from 2000 until 2011, as well as part of the professional military police judo squad from 2003 until 2011.

But to call Bruno just a converted judoka would do him a disservice, particularly in recent months where he has shown a strong affinity for leg and specifically ankle locks, far from an area of expertise for a typical judoka. The judo competition ruleset tends to create fighters with excellent takedowns, chokes and armlocks, but given all leglocks are illegal in judo competition, it is rarely something they put much effort into learning since there is little practical benefit for them within their sport. If you have literally a few seconds to spare you can see Bruno proving that not all judoka are cut from the same cloth:

Bruno’s interest in leg attacks came about from watching sambo and no-gi grappling earlier in his training, but since he was competing professionally in judo he wasn’t permitted to take part in other sports under different rulesets. After calling time on his judo career, he jumped into training leg locks alongside the Italian national sambo team with the aim of turning a typical weakness of converted judoka into his strength. As can be seen from the clips above, this is something he has been more than successful in doing.

After taking silver in last weekend’s World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Abu Dhabi, defeating Team Lloyd Irvin’s Tim Spriggs in the semi-final before losing on points to Braulio Estima student Nelton Pontes in the final, he has now set his sights on the World Championships in California. He plans to capture yet another world title to add to his resume. Look for him as a face to be challenging for titles in both his weight and the absolute when the end of May rolls around.

The two brown belt absolute finalists in WPJJC 2013 were disqualified for lack of combativeness by referee Luciano Mendes. Photo:Dan Rod/ GracieMag

The fifth edition of the Abu Dhabi WPJJC was last weekend, but it still echoes strongly in conversations at gyms and the GRACIEMAG website.

Besides the big fight between champion Marcus Buchecha and Rodolfo Vieira and the invincibility of Gabi Garcia, the brown belt absolute final generated a strong repercussion.

Keenan Cornelius faced, once again, the light Paulo Miyao, until the gold medal dispute ended in unusual ways. The referee of the fight, black belt from Nova União Luciano Mendes opted to disqualify both the athletes for lack of combativeness. Keenan and Paulo had their legs tangled when it comes to the crunch.

Correct decision? Or hasty? Right or not? Leave your opinion. But before commenting, please read Luciano’s explanation for his decision to GRACIEMAG:

“Both finalists were passive and weren’t seeking for points or submissions. With this, I am bound by the rule, after every 20 seconds of inactivity, to punish them. The rule constantly undergoes adjustments, as occurred recently. It is important that all competitors read and do the courses run by the IBJJF, all referees trained by the mentioned institution are able to fulfill what is in our regulation. So my criterion was adopted based on the existing rule, as usual,” says Luciano.

With the disqualification of both, the WPJJC organization opted to raise Kaue Damasceno (Nova União), who then placed third, to the absolute title, so the athlete pocketed the first place prize offered. The decision turned out to generate more controversy over the referee, accused on social networks to have eliminated finalists, favoring his brown belt teammate.

Luciano rejected such criticism, noting that nothing in the rules says that third place would be the new champion:

“Regarding the fact that the athlete placed third became the champion, this decision was by the organization of the event and it wasn’t my competence. On social networks, there are many different opinions about the disqualification; everyone is entitled to think what they want. I repeat: I only performed what was written in the rule,” defends Luciano.

The referee now says he hopes the athletes become more familiarized with the rules, so they won’t be taken by surprise anymore: “Every athlete has to study the rule and adapt to the game. Cases of lack of combativeness must always be punished strictly and all referees are trained for that.”

João Gabriel celebrates his victory in Long Beach. Photo: Dan Rod

Brown belt absolute world champion, João Gabriel Rocha received his black belt in the beginning of the year, during the Heavyweight Grand Prix of Copa Pódio. Now the ace of Soul Fighters prepares to make his debut at the maximum degree, in the WPJJC Abu Dhabi, on April 13 and 14.

Leandro Escobar’s pupil talked to GracieMag.com about his training and the expectation to fight among big names in the desert of the Emirates. Check this out.

GracieMag: How do you feel about debuting in Abu Dhabi?

JOÃO GABRIEL: I’m excited. After all, it will be my first time fighting in Abu Dhabi and also my first tournament as a black belt. It will be fun.

What has changed in your training?

The main change has been the pace, which is a mile per minute thanks to coach Andre Nobrega. My Jiu-Jitsu training is in the hands of Leandro Escobar. I workout in the morning and train in the afternoon and in the evening – an average of six hours of training a day.

What do you expect to find in the black belt division?

In the black belt division, there’s nowhere to run. So I especially trained how to escape from tricky situations like with the guy passing my guard or on my back. Jiu-Jitsu is trying to get comfortable in all situations, and that’s what I try to do. I’ve got a lot of guts and will to win my place. I want to do everything I did at the other belts and now is the time to show my worth and I will fight hard for it. I do not promise titles, but I can promise a lot of willingness to win. Now is the time when the child cries and the mother doesn’t hear (laughs).

What does it take to be a good black belt?

Focusing on what you do, and a lot of love, too. If you have those two things, you get where you want, both in Jiu-Jitsu and in life.